Veteran P.S. Nandan’s biggest sale came as late as 2012 when he sold a six-foot-tall abstract stone sculpture of Ganesha to a Chennai builder. “I quoted Rs 12 lakh and he, though rich, haggled it down to Rs 8 lakh. Probably that is how he became a millionaire,” the 77-year-old artist chuckles with rustic innocence. Nandan is sure the builder would not have batted an eyelid while picking a pricey painting. “Maybe most of them confuse us for stone masons,” says Nandan, who works at Cholamandal Artists Village en route to Mahabalipuram. “The artist in us is the same: searching for an expression. I myself started as a painter and continue to sketch and paint.”